Twitter goes down again in its fight to protect free speech.

After months of struggle, Twitter has agreed to hand over user data relating to the “Good Jew” hashtag that resulted in some hate speech, reports GigaOm. The relevant information will be given to the French government, despite Twitter’s track record of resistance toward information requests.

The French Union of Jewish Students (UEJF) first raised concerns in October 2012 over the hate speech associated with the hashtag #UnBonJuif (A Good Jew). UEJF requested that Twitter remove some of the offensive tweets, which it did, but the UEJF was also after personally identifying information of the tweet writers in question.

The Grand Instance Court in Paris ordered Twitter to hand over the data in January, but Twitter refused at the risk of incurring fines up to €1,000 ($1,298) per day. The UEJF responded by suing the company for €38.5 million ($49.96 million).

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo is famously in staunch support of free speech, but that stance clashes with social mores—and even laws—in other countries. Part of the disagreement stems from how French and American governments treat hate speech differently: in America, it’s protected, but in France, it's not.

In a statement to GigaOm, Twitter reiterated its commitment to “contributing to the fight against racism and anti-Semitism” and promised to create a better process for reporting “illegal tweets.” Twitter has previously handed over data in investigations relating to Occupy Wall Street as well as to a shooting threat in New York City.

Casey Johnston
Casey Johnston is the former Culture Editor at Ars Technica, and now does the occasional freelance story. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Applied Physics. Twitter@caseyjohnston